Michael's PD

Michael,
This sounds like a very appropriate and timely professional
development.  I like that you are going to identify a person
reason for each teacher to want to use the web creator.  In the
extra book that I read for the class, it mentioned the strategy of
modeling the idea using something of personal interest,--such as you
mentioned with originally showing staff how to share personal pictures
with their family members through the web.  This is a great way to
get people hooked and invested.

I also like that you are planning
on using google, which your teachers are already familiar with from
their own personal uses and email.  This will help those who are
more afraid/resistant to be more comfortable.

Your professional development clearly supports your long term plan.  Nice work!

Michael, I can tell you have an excellent view
of the big picture at your school. I chose web development for my PD module as
well. I am going to stay with Google Page Creator because we already have some
teachers using it. It is so simple it
has been the only editor that teachers have been able to stick with. We have
very few teachers that have successfully used NVU on an ongoing basis. I love
the program myself but I think our teachers just want something quick and easy.
If page creator will only be available as an admin user, I guess teachers will
need to use their own individual account. That eliminates a big reason we were
thinking of going to Google Apps.

Michael—

Plan “B” -- keeping options open -- that’s the key,
right? Both of us have had to change our plans mid-stream here and go
with different web design options. Do you foresee any different
challenges going with NVU vs. Google page creator? As we’re both going
this route, it would be great to stay in touch about things that are
working well or glitches we run into.

Finding a way to make this
all meaningful to the individual teachers….interesting idea with the
personal websites. We’ve also encouraged folks to create websites for
other organizations that they belong to – whatever works to hook their
interest.

I hadn’t thought about having staff create online CVs.
I think the use of online portfolios for relicensure will only increase
in the near future, and putting their CVs online would certainly
connect to this. Some teachers might be intimidated by it if the feel
they might not compare positively to others, although I think it’s a
great way to communicate with the public about the varied skills and
experiences we all bring to our positions and the continual
professional development many pursue above and beyond that which is
required.

And pragmatics—definitely something that almost all
teachers could relate to. Especially at the middle school, we have so
many letters and forms that never make it home. Posting these online
has helped a lot. We’ve even started to get some of our orders for our
8th grade business coming in using forms downloaded from our web page.
It’s great!

Sue